Harvest

We had a great weekend, thanks in large part to the weather. It was sunny, breezy, lows in the 50s and highs in the low 70s. Summer is long and arduous in Texas, which makes us appreciate fall so much. Anna was remarking on how spring is nice, too, but then you know its just going to get hotter...

So for now, cool crisp fall is upon us, and we celebrated by ending our summer garden. Saturday night I made grilled chicken breasts, marinated in basil, rosemary, and lemon (from a meyer lemon that fell off early). We also had a mixed pepper salad. The kids found one overgrown huge eggplant. We have a wonderful heirloom called Rosa Bianca. It makes grapefruit sized white fruit with streaks of lavender. They are never bitter, always creamy and nutty, but I was worried about this overgrown one. I chopped it up and cooked it in olive oil, garlic, onion, tomato, and basil. Normally I am the only one to eat the eggplants, but Anna spied that stew and said, "That looks delicious!" It was one of the best eggplants this year. She and I devoured it all.

Sunday, we were all in the garden, pulling out the old tomatoes and 2/3 of the basil - with the rain its gone crazy, with huge, dimpled leaves. However, its choking out the thyme and oregano, and we need room for the fall plants. I picked only the most perfect leaves from the bushes that we culled... and ended up with 2 large bowls of leaves. Hard to believe there is still a ton left in the ground. At least now the broccoli, cabbage, and lettuces can finally take root.

Of course I had to make a massive batch of pesto with all that basil, which Anthony and I slurped down after the kids went to bed. Ah, the true end of summer 2009... can't say I'm sad to see you go, especially with all that pesto in my freezer. Still, sad to think I won't have another sublime tomato or eggplant until next hell season.